How we’re aiming high as Pudsey’s first dedicated sixth form college – Dr Phil Mark

Philanthropic textile manufacturer Robert Owen once said: “To train and educate the rising generation will at all times be the first object of society.” Owen died in 1858 but his words remain as relevant as ever.

As a partnership made up of experienced educators, we were very well aware of the high stakes (and rewards) when we took on the task of creating a brand new dedicated sixth form college for the West of Leeds. To put it frankly: we had to get it right.

We are now within touching distance of seeing our vision become a reality, and will welcome the first students into Pudsey Sixth Form College this September. The fact that we have reached this stage is a testament to teamwork and a partnership of education providers that was formed to really deliver for the local community and future ‘rising’ generations.

The area’s schools first identified a growing pressure on local sixth form provision nearly 20 years ago, and their concerns increased as demographic figures started to predict a rise in the number of 16-18 year olds across Leeds. Of course having so many young minds to teach also represented a fantastic opportunity – but only if the right infrastructure was in place to do so.

In 2018, with their own individual sixth forms already at overcapacity, the schools sought a fresh and collaborative approach – and that’s where we, given our experience of successfully running Leeds Sixth Form College, joined the conversation.

The partnership that arose from these discussions – Crawshaw Academy, Co-Op Academy Priesthorpe, Leeds West Academy and Leeds Sixth Form College – agreed that a new dedicated sixth form for Pudsey would be the best solution; and so began the long process of working out the details.

Driving us forward throughout the planning stage were some non-negotiable goals and values that we have kept at the top of our minds. Chief among these was a commitment to support the needs of local students by providing a quality sixth form – offering a broad range of qualifications – which, by being on their doorstep, would feel like a natural ‘next step’.

Of equal importance was for this college – which has been built beside Crawshaw Academy – to support and work closely with local businesses and organisations to become an integral part of the community.

Our students will be studying in a building that has been designed specifically with their needs in mind, and enrolling on courses that we each, drawing upon our individual expertise and experience, have carefully researched and selected.

Like all undertakings of this scale, the journey to get here has not been plain-sailing and we have had some significant challenges along the way. These have been overcome thanks to the strength of commitment from each of the project partners, our pooled resources, and our collective belief that this endeavour will bring transformational benefits to the area.

The curveballs included having to come up with a different funding model after our carefully planned arrangements were knocked off course in 2022, when the borrowing rules for colleges were changed. That required a rapid rethink and we worked fast, as a collective, to team up with other organisations and lobby politicians on the issue. Thankfully, the Department for Education (DfE) ended up introducing a scheme that enabled us to finance our new sixth form via a £12.7m loan.

We are committed to becoming a good and valued neighbour in Pudsey, and a key part of that will be ensuring that orderly parking and travel arrangements are in place for the college. To achieve this, we have proposed a whole raft of traffic management measures which we’ll be monitoring, alongside Leeds City Council, to make sure they are working as intended.

When we welcome our first students, mostly from our partner schools, this September it will be to a college where they will be able study a truly broad range of A level, vocational and GCSE courses.

The partners thought long and hard about the make-up and mix of the curriculum, along with the overall ethos, to ensure this sixth form will serve Pudsey and its young people well while delivering the skills local businesses need.

Our focus will be on helping learners excel, where possible, while making sure they all fulfil their potential – and with the added benefit of being able to do so without the expense, and inconvenience, of having to travel into the centre of Bradford or Leeds.

We know we have to earn the trust and respect of the local community, because while each member of our partnership has a strong reputation individually, as a collective this is our first enterprise – and, as Pudsey’s first dedicated sixth form college, it’s something new altogether.

We will be aiming high, with a target of reaching our capacity of around 650 students by our third year – and we are looking forward to working closely with our learners, parents, and local businesses to reach that milestone.

Dr Phil Mark is Principal of Leeds Sixth Form College and Pudsey Sixth Form College, both members of Luminate Education Group.